 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-07-24 16:23
I teach privately to a few middle school and high school students right now. I don't have a published price because I give a discount to a couple of my students because I'm close to their parents.
My general asking price for the entire month, however, is higher. I was a clarinet music ed major in college and I love to teach private lessons. A colleague of mine who was a saxophone performance major charges $10 a month less than I do.
I live in TN but wonder what teenagers' parents are shelling out for private lessons these days--assuming their children aren't taking lessons from professors with their doctorates.
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Author: Tara
Date: 2008-07-24 19:33
Here in OK most teachers (professionals, but non-college professors) are around $15 for a half hour lesson. Some are a bit less, some are more. Most high school kids pay about that amount. But, I know several students who pay $20 for a half hour with a more "elite" teacher.
Hope that helps.
Tara
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Author: coasten1
Date: 2008-07-24 19:58
I am an adult and study with a student who just received their Masters Degree from a major University. I pay $35 for a 1 hour lesson.
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-07-24 20:33
My daughter's violin teacher (M.M. from Cleveland) charges $20 per half hour.
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-07-24 20:37
Tara, my lessons also break down to $15 per half hour lesson in general. Like I said, though, I charge less to parents that my husband and I are close to.
As a high school student in the late 70's, I drove 1/2 hour to the nearest fine arts college and the clarinet professor there charged me $3 for an hours' lesson. He told me he did it for the enjoyment for than for the money.
^
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**also enjoys teaching clarinet...but must help feed family of four**
Post Edited (2008-07-24 21:00)
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2008-07-24 20:46
Here you can get really inexpensive lessons, (especially in music schools catering to child beginners) for as little as $8/half hour, but most of the quality teachers here run at about $50-$60/hour, though there are some who charge $80-$100 an hour or more! I actually charge $45/hour (I'm working through the Royal Conservatory of Music levels), but I have a rather extensive list of accomplishments with the students who study and have studied with me, three clarinet students of mine have achieved 90%+ on the exams (one of those three did it twice--Grade 4 and Grade 6 Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto, which means mine have done it four times) I have produced scholarship and competition winners, including one student who competed in a *national* competition (in Canada), students who play in high level groups...plus I offer a lot of extras that many teachers don't have, I sometimes think I should be charging double what I do considering the accomplishments and extras. Some of the extras I have include instruction in ear training and sight reading, music theory, an onsite pianist, videos of students playing, student concerts, rhythmic training...just to name a few.
Meri
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2008-07-24 21:20
Here in NYC, entry level lessons start around $50 per hour, and run upwards of several hundreds of dollars for the big name guys.
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-07-24 21:30
For what it's worth, here in the UK the going rate for an experienced teacher is £30 an hour - something like $60 US at current exchange rates.
That sort of money will buy you the services of an also-ran orchestral player or an experienced teacher and examiner of school-age learners. A real "name" player will charge more, of course, and will generally only take advanced students; a recent graduate will charge less.
But circumstances alter cases. A friend of mine years ago, struggling to break into the profession, was skimping on food in order to pay for his lessons with a very well-known violinist. Seeing the problem, his teacher taught him for free. ..... Writing this, I have just looked up the teacher's obituary, which refers to him as "...a person who remembers what it was like to be hungry when he was young..."
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-07-24 21:53
I did the "official" survey a while back - I haven't seen a lot of rates go up much as teachers don't seem to update their prices to reflect "real world" prices of other disiciplines. I'll re-do it eventually but don't expect prices to have risen that much, maybe about $10 a lesson.
I'm paying $100 hr for personal training (at the gym) and wondering to myself just when the heck did a personal trainer start having higher rates than an expert musician for lessons??
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Music/Blumberg.html is my survey page (middle of the page).
There are plenty of clarinet teachers who charge what they did in the 1990's.
I find that the music stores typically have the cheapest rates as well as the teachers.....
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Neal Raskin
Date: 2008-07-24 22:40
Up here in Minnesota, the average lesson rate with a teacher or local player is around $15/ half hour. Otherwise, with performers and professors you can expect a rate between $40-$100/hr.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2008-07-25 01:11
I teach in TN as well and I charge $100/month paid by the month for one lesson a week. I really do not set a time, but no less than an hour or so.
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2008-07-25 01:23
If a plumber can charge $100 per hour
If a personal trainer can charge $100 per hour
If a shrink can charge $150 per hour
If a Teamster can get $100 per hour (including benis) loading a truck
If dentist can get $100 for cleaning one set of teeth
Then something is wrong if we musicians with advanced degrees from great schools can only get $30 an hour....
Sad state of things if you ask me.....
I currently charge $75 per hour which is what the market will bear with my statusand credentials in the food chain here in Chicago....
But I am worth more......much more....
Now back to reality...
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-07-25 01:30
check the web sites of the local middle and high school bands. many times the local school's rates are published on their web pages. if not, call a few of the band directors and ask what the local going rate is.
most of the schools here set the rates - $16-17 / half hour.
if you teach totally outside the school system, you can charge more.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: DrH2O
Date: 2008-07-25 01:34
The preparatory program at my university charges the following:
30 minute lesson with an undergraduate level teacher $16.50
30 minute lesson with a graduate level teacher $19.00
30 minute lesson with a faculty teacher $24.50
They double the rates for hour-long lessons. I don't know how much they actually pass on to the teachers - they must keep something for admin costs.
Anne
Clarinet addict
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2008-07-25 01:41
I live in Tennessee and pay $30 per hour to a former (now retired) college music director who is a very good player, as well. Clarinet is the intrument he plays in 3 or 4 ensembles in a nearby medium-sized town.
There is one more clarinet teacher who teaches about 30 miles from here that charges $15 for half hour lessons.
CarlT
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Author: allencole
Date: 2008-07-25 02:40
Here in Richmond, VA most lessons in music stores run $20-22 per half hour. Out of that figure, teachers are charged $4-6 room rent in most cases. I heard that a local college prof was getting $60 per hour, and a local arts academy charges $60 per hour for lessons that aren't part of a normal semester program.
I'd be curious to know what the college instructors are clearing. A friend of mine quit teaching at one local University because he could make more money in a music store.
In-school lessons are generally cheaper. Most programs that I'm aware of charge $15 per half hour.
I agree with all the traffic about how our rates don't increase readily, and how we're underpaid compared to private instructors of other types. BUT...pricing is more of an art than a science and is a creature more of market than product. I've long survived competition with quality players, and my results make me feel that I can hold my own. The competition that I fear would come from snake-oil salesmen and attractive young females. So are we so surprised that we make less money than folks who teach you how to be slick, and/or attractive?
Allen Cole
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-25 02:49
Long Island, NY - rates range from $50/hr for teachers just out of college starting their own private practice to $75 - $80/hr for experienced teachers/performers and co-moderators of the clarinet bulletin board ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
Remember - as much as we would always like to charge more, music lessons for most families (especially those who have more than one child taking lessons) are an expensive proposition, especially now when weighed against ever rising household expenses and fuel. Thus we always have to be cautious not to price ourselves out of reach for our students.
.
..GBK
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-07-25 03:42
At my local music store the posted rate was $18 (Canadian $) per half hour last year. The teachers are highly qualified pros.
Dileep Gangolli,
I agree it doesn't seem fair, but economic factors (supply & demand, demand elasticity, substitution, etc.) influence the rates for some of the jobs you listed. E.g., when the plumbing malfunctions, most people will pay whatever the plumber wants. If life were fair (or if it were up to me), the surgeon who saves lives on a daily basis would earn more than any professional athlete too.
Hans
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2008-07-25 04:33
I study with a univeristy professor who is a PHD and plays all over the world. When I started I was shocked (pleasantly) that he quoted me $25 for a half hour lesson. I felt guilty every time I gave him a check. After a year I said that I thought there should be an increase. He reluctantly suggest $30 and I said I thought it should be $35. I just felt that someone of his calibre should get more than the "going rate." The regular teacher I had before charged $20 for a half hour.
Leonard
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-07-25 12:26
CarlT, are you from east TN by chance?
Brandon, if you're teaching in Germantown, most of the residents there should be able to afford your price, if their homes and businesses reflect their incomes. Lucky you!
David, my colleague I mentioned in the orginal post teaches out of a music store and her rates are better than mine. I was wondering if I should feel guilty or not--thus a big reason I started this thread.
I'm pleased to see the responses. David, I'll look forward to an update on your survey.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-07-25 12:51
Dileep, I want your Plumber!!!!! 
Claire, some music stores charge the teachers a set fee from $5 to $10 per 1/2 hr. and the teacher charges what they want, can get, etc.
Others take all of the money and pay the teachers - typically they will get anywhere from 50-70% for the teacher. Advantage of that is the stores often have quite a strict cancellation policy so the teacher isn't stuck trying to fit in makeups. The student either shows or doesn't, but the teacher still gets paid (as in not showing up to a gym for a month but still paying).
Us teachers of course have to stay within "market pricing". There's always somebody who will charge a lot less and a lot more. I change my rates about once every 5 years, but right now it's going on 6 and I probably won't do anything - economy is too bad right now.
I've noticed a slowdown in calls for new students due to that absolutely.
Asto rates, there are students parents who may pick a teacher who charges $25 for 1/2 hr over someone who is $17 as the perception is that the $25 teacher is better.
Not always the case, but often you do get what you pay for.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2008-07-25 13:44
Hi all,
I teach in Maryland. I charge $50/hour, but most take 30-minute lessons for $25. I usually travel to the students' homes, so there's gas money involved. Used to charge $40 an hour, but rate went up with the gas prices. The major symphony players around here usually charge $100, and you go to their houses. The school where I teach in a really upscale town in Montgomery County charges $42 per half-hour lesson, pro-rated for 45-minute or 1-hour lessons. The teachers get about half that money, some get a little more or a little less depending on their education and experience.
So, I guess the prices vary quite a bit across the country.
Lori
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2008-07-25 16:51
We need to charge fees that allow ourselves to make a decent living, while also having multiple sources of income. I advised one of my clarinet students who recently started teaching (I encouraged him) to not charge less than $20/half hour, and, generally not teach 1/2 hour lessons. I found when I charged less people tend to take lessons less seriously. There is also the supply versus demand: charge low fees, and, while you *may* get a lot of students, you won't maximize the amount you earn, while if you charge too much, you may not have enough demand. Piano teachers are especially guilty of charging really low fees.
I've become one of those people who increasingly believes when you pay more, you usually get more. And when people pay more, they are more likely to be serious about the work.
Our fees not only reflect our training, but should fairly represent the costs we incur in our teaching studios, eg: sheet music, education (for example, I'm taking rhythmic training lessons from a percussion teacher starting next week, which will enable me to teach advanced students as well as learn the very difficult rhythms in some of my own music) piano equipment, instrument repairs/adjustments (and an overhaul when it needs it), accompanist fees, recordings (especially of the upper intermediate and advanced literature), advertising...in fact, here I am suspicious of the quality of lessons when teachers charge less than about $100/month for lessons.
For students and parents who cannot afford full fees (I screen them quite carefully, in fact I only teach one such student, and I've known him for a long time, a piano student), they can apply for tuition assistance for music lessons (Musiclink--which has recently become availabile in Canada, though available in the US for several years now). I also offer a work-study program, which students or parents assist with various aspects of my studio or performances (eg: working as a page turner for my pianist, folding concert programs, serving refreshments, folding brochures, putting up ads in the places that tend to attract good students. Then again, sometimes you have to make sacrificies--like forego having a car and using the money to pay for quality music lessons. I thought my first clarinet teawcher was amazing, and I could see why he normally charged $60/hour (this was in 1998), though was willing to help out students in need--though I did my share of the work too, especially by doing the practicing and trying to give him lots of referrals. (we are still in touch with each other to this day!)
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
Post Edited (2008-07-25 17:04)
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2008-07-25 22:13
>>CarlT, are you from east TN by chance?
Clarie Annette, Yes, are you?
CarlT
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-07-25 22:56
Yes, CarlT, I am.
If it turns out that we play for the same organization...how funny would that be?
I'm reluctant to divulge much information about myself online, but does the name "Roxanne" mean anything to you?
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Author: fernan
Date: 2008-07-25 23:04
My old teacher (sans PhD) charges 30 bucks an hour (17 per half hour)
My new teacher (PhD) is 50 dollars an hour.Claire Annette wrote:
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Author: bill28099
Date: 2008-07-26 03:56
My old teacher, no BA, no MA, no PhD but principal in a major symphony orchestra charged $50/hour, my new teacher with PhD, principal of nothing and retired charges $50/hour.
A great teacher gives you answers to questions
you don't even know you should ask.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-07-26 05:37
Here in Tokyo, the price is usually variable on the age of the student (and the experience of the teacher, of course). Young kids pay less high school age, but an average base price is about $30US/half hour for private lessons.
High school kids wanting to get into a conservatory can often spend about $70-100US/hour or a bit more.
Stores offer lower prices than private lessons, of course. Also, the prices outside metropolitan areas are lower.
Post Edited (2008-07-26 10:02)
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Author: allencole
Date: 2008-07-26 21:24
Another issue to explore-perhaps in a separate thread--would be would sort of business terms we find acceptable at teachers. I run a fairly tight ship in those terms, and it has helped immensely in fighting upward pressure on my prices.
Meri is right on about seriousness vs. price. I find it's true more often than not. In fact, I resisted a price increase from $17 for over 5 years, and got no squawks when I took it up to $20. (some stores had reached $22 by that point)
Another thing that I've found is that in-school lessons went far less well in terms of accomplishment compared to music-store lessons. A couple of reasons:
1 - Band directors and parents kept prices artificially low, were susidizing the lessons outright, or were paying for them in full.
2 - Students had too many distractions around, and found it all to easy to make up an excuse to miss their lesson if they weren't prepared.
3 - I never met the parents. The band director assigned a lesson slot, and the parents took no interest in who was being locked in a small room alone with their child each week. (?!)
Putting the lessons in a music store was worth the loss in room rent for these factors:
1 - Lessons had to be arranged, and got the parents involved.
2 - The businss side of things was no longer controlled by the school or parents, and therefore not subject to their whims.
3 - Lazy band students met guitar players who had to practice pretty had just to learn a song. It really drove home a world-view that they would not believe while confined to their school band environment.
Students also had to at least pack up their instrument and walk from the school next door to the music store--or had to be driven back to the store at night after their initial return home. Travel is another factor that weeds out committment.
I think that both business terms and curriculum are subjects a teach must do a lot of soul-searching on, and continue to review as the years go by. I think that this would be an interesting subject to compare notes on. You can decide if it should be in this thread or a new one.
Allen Cole
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2008-07-26 22:25
Seattle Prices vary but on the Eastside Suzy and I pay:
$90 a month for half hour sessions to one clarinet instructor (includes five week months and if we cancel, we still pay the full price)
$50 an hour with a sax instructor with cancelation rights.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-07-26 22:27
Neal, I don't know where you are in Minnesota (your ISP says Mpls) but I do know that most teachers at the store I teach at are rather higher than $15 for a half-hour. And many of us who teach at all the branches of this store will either have to raise our rates in a couple of weeks or take a pay cut because the "studio fee" is going up $4/hour. We're free to charge what we want.
The company has made a decision that they will increase the rates in order to no longer have the lesson programs be break-even propositions. They will now be profitable for the store/company. Apparently instrument/accessory sales weren't driving them far enough. Not that the store that I teach at has an overwhelming selection or anything...
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Author: marshall
Date: 2008-07-26 22:41
I've never had a lesson with a professional for less than $40 an hour.
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Author: chicagoclar
Date: 2008-07-28 00:24
Here in Southern California, I charge $35/hour, 20 for 1/2 hour. I may raise the prices due to gas prices (I travel to most of my students' houses) I have my Master's
My teacher (has a doctorate in clarinet performance) who teaches at the University I graduated from charges $50 for an hour for her students outside of the university. The flute teacher at our university who only has a masters charges $100 (but she's worth every cent) and has a huge studio, so people are paying it.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-07-28 07:16
Here in Israel I think price went up a lot in the last few years (maybe five years).
Now it's very generally something like this:
Lowest you can find is probably a little under 100 NIS (about $28), maybe as low as about 80 NIS ($23). This is possibly from a young university (first degree) student.
Some university students or people with first degree, usually relatively young (but not always) charge around 120 NIS ($35). Some charge more than that and some less (I'd guess between 100 and 140).
Some teachers with better reputation, usually has a first or masters degree, maybe also teach at an institute, chagre anywhere between 120 NIS to maybe around 200 NIS (about $55) or sometimes more. Usually the university teachers charge closer to the higher price, but I know some excellent teachers, who are very busy, have many students, in high demand, etc. and charge only 120 NIS or close to that.
The most expensive music teacher in the country that I know of (she doesn't teach an instrument actually but something else) charges 300 NIS (about $85). Maybe there is higher but I don't know.
Of course this is all very general and there are exceptions. Degrees are not so relevant for private lesson prices from what I see, but reputation is. for some repuation as players is more than repuation as teachers (and some the opposite). Of course this is all with the current excahnge rate so the prices in $US are not so relevant and can easily change because of that. Also it is all for one hour lesson which is usually (but not always) standard.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2008-07-29 16:36
A summer flute student here in Richmond, VA told me that she's paying a local band director $30 per half-hour lesson during the school year. After five years of this she's still confused by dotted-note rhythms. (yes, dotted-quarter-eighth, & dotted eighth-sixteenth)
Sometimes, it's all about the mystique, I guess...
Allen Cole
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Author: fernan
Date: 2008-07-29 18:40
Oh yes, Bill--I totally agree! With my old teacher, I play a bunch of exercises, he gives me notes, and I work on it at home. With Dr. Zelickman, I will literally play two notes of an exercise, and he will identify the problem and we will work on it. Sometimes, I only play one short etude or exercise during the entire hour, but it will have been worth it, because we are correcting many bad habits.
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